Sierra Nevada Conservancy Opens Tuolumne BioEnergy Facility to Conclude Community Resilience Program
The Tuolumne BioEnergy facility in Sonora, California, has officially opened, marking the completion of the Community and Watershed Resilience Program funded by a $70.4 million federal grant from the National Disaster Resilience Competition. This initiative aimed to aid Tuolumne County's recovery following the 2013 Rim Fire, which affected over 250,000 acres.
The program achieved three main goals: enhancing forest health, establishing community resilience centers, and promoting biomass utilization through two new facilities. The Tuolumne BioEnergy facility will produce around 30,000 tons of wood pellets annually, while the Tuolumne Biomass facility, operational since October 2024, processes similar quantities of biomass, creating jobs and improving local forest resilience.
